Happy Saturday! Welcome to my blog. I believe you're having a great weekend. Mine is moving smoothly.
I've come to report this mother hen you see in this photo. No one should shout "justice for mother hen", because I don't think she deserves justice. Not after what she's done. 😂
How can a hen not act like a typical mother hen that we all know about? A mother hen that is so protective of her chicks that she's ever ready to fight any predator that dares come around her chicks. Ah, this hen is nothing but a disappointment. In fact a careless and an irresponsible mother hen.
My dad bought her as a pullet, and built a comfortable coop where she would be roosting. In the mornings, she would be allowed to free-range. She'll roam freely in the compound even in the neighboring compounds, exercising and foraging for food. In the evenings, she'll return to the safety of her coop to roost.
That was the routine and within weeks, she was ready to lay her first eggs. Weeks gone she finally became a mother hen, brooding five chicks. I was happy that there would be an addition of more chicken. But can you believe that this hen failed to properly care for her chicks during brooding. She lost all of them within weeks of brooding. What sort of mother hen would do that if not a careless one, eh?
Understandably, hens can loose some chicks in the process of brooding, Since they were free-ranging, it's possible that predators got the young chickens. Free-ranging makes birds, especially chicks more vulnerable to predators. And being a young bird, she might be inexperienced on how to brood and equally protect her chicks from predators.
As if she knew that she erred, she laid another eggs weeks after. This time she brooded six chicks. I was happy seeing her with the chicks the day I visited my parents, and hoped that she'll properly care for them this time around. At least she's, a bit experienced now, or so I thought.
But yesterday, I got a bummer. I saw her and just two of the young chickens foraging in my mom's garden. I asked mom about the other ones and she replied that she lost them, just like the first time. And that she's not even sure about the safety of the remaining two. What the heck?
Well I gave her a piece of my mind that if she ever looses the remaining two, she'll end up in a pot of stew, and that would be it. One can't keep a hen that wouldn't increase and multiply. That's bad business. 😂
So there you have it. Please tell me if I'm wrong in calling her out. Thank you.
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